How to share files between two computers connected by a router?

• Two computers, one router, no file transfers I want to transfer some 20 gigs between two computers. They're in the same room, connected via a router. Both of them are running Win XP. I have a ISP Branded D-Link router - DSL-604+. I connected both computers to the router, gave them the same workgroup name, but they do not show up on the other computer's workgroup network places view. I tried running the FileZilla FTP server, and connect to FTP with IP - no such luck. I could not find proper FileZilla FTP Server documentation anyway, so it was a shot in the dark. The Microsoft help files and internet guides about settings workgroups are no help at all. I am getting packets when I ping the other computer - it's the MS Network interface which is problematic. I really want to do this without spending money and without transferring hard discs. Please help me find a (somewhat) elegant solution.

• Answer:

  If one or both are running XP Home you may have problems - some of the network issues were "simplified" in Home. You can try the following:Check file sharing. Is it enabled on both? If you have no sharing enabled, they may not show up on the network.Check to see if you are currently sharing any folders. If you have no active shares, again the computer may not show up on the network. Share a subfolder, not the entire drive. I like to make a "C:\Share" folder or create a "C:\temp" folder and share that, rather than sharing directories that have actual important things in them.Check to see if doing Start --> Run --> "\\NameOfComputerToConnectTo" or "\\IP.Of.Computer.###" will find it. If you can ping it, you ought to be able to find it this way.Check user accounts. Running as standard user or admin? Password protected? Same account name/password on each, or different? If different you'll need to enter credentials (as NameOfComputerToConnectTo\UserNameOnThatComputer) when prompted.Check to see if "simple file sharing" is enabled. I personally hate this and turn it off, but then again I know how to set the more advanced settings for user or group-level sharing and security. Simple sharing basically means the folder is either open to all or not open period.Check the router. Is it configured to allow file sharing or does it have some sort of firewall set up that blocks this locally?Check the software firewalls on both computers. Are you using the built-in Windows firewall, some third party firewall, or both? Running more than one firewall will screw things up. Pick the one you like best and disable or uninstall the others. Make sure both computers are using the same firewall. Check the firewall settings to be sure that file sharing is enabled.If none of the above help, well, I've seen computers that were for all intents and purposes identical, with the same configuration, on the same local subnet, in the same room, that never successfully "talked" to each other. Windows networking is not especially solid and can quite often be a complete mystery.